NEW YORK – U.S. consumers have been buying significantly fewer cell phones but paying higher prices for them, according to a research firm.

The NPD Group said in a report Tuesday that 28 million cell phones were sold in the United States in the second quarter, a decline of 13percent from the same period a year ago.

However, the phones that were sold tended to have more features and be more expensive, and the total value of the market was down only 2 percent from a year ago, at $2.4 billion, according to NPD.

Motorola Inc.’s phones were the most popular, but its share of the units sold dropped to 21 percent, from 32 percent last year.

AVIATION

Civilian jetmaker is being acquired

WASHINGTON – General Dynamics Corp. said Tuesday it will buy Jet Aviation for about $2.25 billion in cash, part of the defense contractor’s push to expand its private civilian jet business and tap into robust demand for luxury planes overseas.

With the purchase, General Dynamic’s Gulfstream business jet unit adds a worldwide network of aircraft maintenance and service centers where wealthy individuals and cash-rich governments can outfit private jets with plush interiors and custom features.

While General Dynamics is perhaps best known for its tanks, ships, submarines and other military equipment, it has significantly expanded its aerospace unit in recent years and now expects its fleet of flying business jets to double in the next decade to roughly 30,000 planes.

TOURISM

Fewer Americans

visiting Britain

LONDON – The number of American tourists visiting Britain dropped by 120,000 in a year, British government figures showed, amid a slowdown in the U.S. economy and a weaker dollar.

The decline in American travelers from June 2007 to June 2008 – representing 4percent of the Americans who visit the country annually – resulted in an estimated loss of 350 million pounds in tourism revenues to the British economy, according to VisitBritain, the country’s tourism authority.

The tourism statistics, also showed a sharp decline in overall tourists to Britain – a 5 percent decline from April 2007 to June 2008.